Canteen is the new restaurant in downtown Johannesburg’s Arts on Main, a block of warehouses remade into chic artist’s studios and exhibition spaces.
The place serves breakfast, lunch and supper, so in that sense it is a canteen, but not of the sort you may have frequented at university or boarding school. There are no frills, just wholesome food, simply prepared. The room itself is similarly unadorned — dark walls and long yellowwood tables that you’ll probably find yourself sharing if dining alone.
Canteen will be as quiet as the grave when there’s nothing going on in the precinct as even seasoned Jo’burgers will think twice about heading off to a restaurant a stone’s throw from Jeppe. But if there’s an art event, it will be jammed. At a recent exhibition opening over a Saturday lunch patrons were spread out among the olive trees in the courtyard, drinking beer and ordering open sandwiches.
The unpretentious menu runs from porridge to scrambled eggs to a toasted ciabatta with avocado, bacon, tomato and rocket to platters of Italian meats and well as hummus, Tahini, haloumi and olive version. The beer battered hake (prepared with flour and Amstel) is good enough, but the best thing on the menu when I dined there recently — a perfectly seared piece of salmon — has not made the cut for the Spring Art Tour menu.
There’s also a linguine with pesto, made here with almonds, but the plate I had had too little pesto and looked a touch anemic.
Two wines from the superlative Springfield Estate — the Special Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc and the Whole Berry Cabernet — are on the winelist at great prices, as well as the tasty DeGredel Merlot.